The beleagured Red Hook taco vendors, who paid up to $50,000 last summer to bring their stands up to code, are looking to Coney Island for salvation.

After seeing sales dip nearly 25% at Red Hook Park last summer despite the pricey upgrades, the food sellers are hoping that being part of a new festival in Coney Island this summer will bring in some much-needed extra money.

"It's not because we just want to expand and make the vendors rich," said Cesar Fuentes, a spokesman for the 10 Red Hook vendors who will sell pupusas, empanadas and other Latino fare at the upcoming Festival by the Sea in Coney Island. "It's about survival."

Vendor Janet Lainez, whose family has sold El Salvadoran pupusas in Red Hook for nearly 20 years, said she was delighted for the extra business because she is still trying to pay off the $38,000 she spent on a city-approved food truck.

"We still owe money. The cost for us has just been unbelievable," said Lainez. "I don't think anybody broke even last year."

As part of an agreement announced last week, the Red Hook vendors will set up satellite stands under a series of tents along Stillwell Ave. from May 15 to Labor Day, where they will join hundreds of vendors selling everything from jewelry to tacos.

The vendors also will continue to sell their goods in Red Hook, along Bay St., from May 2 through the end of October.

The Red Hook vendors made headlines in 2007 after the city cracked down on their ramshackle food stands, where they had fed hordes of hungry soccer players for more than 30 years under weather-beaten tarps.

In order to stay, city officials made them formally bid for their spots last spring and then required them to invest in pricey professional-grade food trucks, complete with running water.

The vendors were finally able to return last July - three months behind schedule.

Though many customers returned, vendors said the crowds were smaller. Customers loyal to the original food stands complained about the trucks' noise and pollution, and said they didn't like the more formal ambiance.

"Nobody likes it. The vendors or nobody, but we have to deal with it," said Humberto Carrillo, whose family has sold Guatemalan tacos and flautas in Red Hook for more than 10 years. "We hope it's going to be better this year."